Once and Future Monarch
by FlowerofAdversity
Summary: A collab written by BrightStar and myself happening not soon after 'Creepy Crawly Much'.   Alex, at long last, finds forever love.   Rated 'T' for some action sequences but not much else.


Once and Future Monarch

Synopsis: A what-if scenario between Alex and Max Exterminus. Think about it. The guy's a roach. I doubt he died in the explosion in the episode 'Creepy Crawly Much'. He coaxes Alex into becoming his queen by morphing her DNA into something a bit more fitting...a Monarch butterfly.

Chapter 1—Down in the Dumps

Alex wasn't her typical, sunshiny self recently. She had been downright moody and brooding, which wasn't like her at all. Since the Totally Spies had put an end to Max Exterminus, she hadn't dated anyone in months. Even Bedhead, the prankster had turned out to be completely annoying in the end. Sam and Clover had been right about her penchant to chose horrible boyfriends. Each new beau was worst than the last and it certainly seemed that her tastes were a bit 'odd' to say the least.

Alex stood in front of the mirror preening her hair. It looked much more luscious and feminine long. Even Clover had grown her hair out in an attempt to try a new look. Sam had been ahead of the game following the fashion trends long before the other two followed suit, but they all had to admit they looked good. Even if Alex was feeling like the odd woman out and the '3rd wheel' to her girlfriends' fun, she was glad to be shopping with her best girlfriends and not having to worry about being called with them to investigate another mystery, solve another crime, and inevitably save the world.

Fortunately shopping took away Alex's blues about being single. Life had been more laid back for her, especially since spring break was just around the corner and WHOOP had promised them a vacation to Bora Bora for a job well done. Alex was working on buying flattering swimsuits for her athletic, svelte figure, beach toys and even a raft to match the tropical beachtowl she had her eyes set on. With gusto, she charged them and Sam took her by the ear.

"Young lady, I think that's about enough charging for now. If Jer figures out you've been using the WHOOP account for an entire beach ensemble, he'll flip his toupee.", she reprimanded, firmly but gently. Sam's boyfriend, Michael had to chuckle. He felt it was amusing how often Sam had been like a 'mother hen' to the other girls. He wasn't sure which of the other two was more immature, Clover or Alex. Yet, he was glad that his girlfriend had such interesting and charming friends.

Chapter 2—WHOOPED Away

Clover grasped at her growling stomach.

"Guys, I'm totally waisting away. If I don't get something to eat quickly, I'll turn into like, a skeleton or something.", she said, dramatically.

"Now that you mention it, Clove, I could really go for a pizza. Who's in ?", Drake, Clover's beau, said, pulling Clover close to him to sneak in a covert cuddle and kiss on her neck, which caused her to squeal giddily. Alex then noticed the guy at the counter of _Marco di Roma_ gazing at her dreamily with what seemed to be glazed eyes. The pimple faced dweeb had horn-rimmed glasses and braces lining his teeth. His brunette hair was greasy and unkempt. His smile made her want to puke, but she had to be kind to him.

"Alright, Melvin. We'll have the supreme special.", she said, knowing what a deal this particular menu item was. It was 3 pieces of pizza for each of them and 5 large sodas, only for $9.99. She had enough cash from her last job helping dust and vacuum the house for spring cleaning, but after that, she was stone broke.

As the 5 were savoring their pizza, a strong gust of wind coming from a nearby trash recepticle sucked the 3 girls down a large pipe and away from their enjoyable afternoon. Frazzled, but calm, the young ladies straightened their hair and wondered why they had been WHOOPED away on what seemed to be a typical day. Thing was, the day was about to become very, _very_ weird.

Chapter 3—Exterminus Back In Business

The girls landed on the couch, as usual. Clover was a bit miffed.

"Jerry, what was that for ?", Clover fumed.

"I couldn't wait any longer, girls. I have some bad news. Max Exterminus is back.", Jerry said, in a gloomy tone. The three girls were in silent shock for a few moments before Clover spoke up.

"No way! The guy died from a rocket explosion! Who lives through something like that ?", she exclaimed, gawking. It was surreal that Maximus had survived. The girls had witnessed the explosion themselves.

"Well, the guy _is_ a cockroach. They're pretty much indestructible. Last I read about their kind was the probability that one or more of them could survive a nuclear holocaust.", Jerry stated, rather astutely.

"If that ever happens, I will get the first plane ticket outta here and jet set for someplace, like completely devoid of insects altogether.", Clover said with an audible shudder. Sam agreed, as did Alex, even though she secretly was fascinated with certain species of bugs.

"It is said he has rebuilt his bug maker. He has dubbed it the Insectitron 2.0. I want you girls to put a stop to his exploits immediately before matters get out of hand.", Jerry warned. Immediately, the girls suited up and were given appropriate gadgets to suit the mission.

"I can't believe we're doing this again. I could be in the mall enjoying a romantic comedy with Mike right now.", Sam whined as she and her friends were WHOOPed right to the location where Exterminus was apparently working.

Max had begun testing out his latest device on the hapless pizza jockey that Alex had ordered pizza from.

"That poor nerd.", she thought to herself.

"On my mark, girls, I'm using these sonic smoke bombs as a diversion.", Sam stated. Upon releasing the silent bombs, Max's insect antennae were exposed to a high-pitched ringing that was undetectable to human ears. Max yelled in pain as the Spies freed Melvin and took him to safety. They then returned to incarcerate Max and return him to WHOOP headquarters without a fight. Somehow Alex felt sorry for the man. It seemed that he didn't have an even playing field, but she wouldn't voice these opinions to the others or they would presume she was taking sides with the villain. If anything, she was for the side of justice, and that's how matters would remain. At least, she _assumed_ they would.

Chapter 4—Jailbreak

When Max awoke from the initial shock (a natural state brought on by too much stimuli), he ran at the bars of his cell, yelling,

"You think your puny cell can hold me ? Think again !", but then the electric shock of the fortified bars struck him down. He rubbed his head in bewilderment, realizing it was going to be harder than he thought. He noticed Alex from afar, talking to the CEO of WHOOP. His heart soared upon seeing her again. If only he could convice her to become his Queen, then he wouldn't be so lonely. She too, seemed to be misunderstood in the world. At least that was something they could build upon. Little did she know that Max was a romantic at heart and enjoyed wooing and courting his women. He was going to treat her right. Just as in the past, he never harmed her and wouldn't allow anyone else to harm her. But if he wanted to win her heart once and for all, he had to start planning and as soon as he busted himself out of WHOOP's ultra-secure prison.

Alex could sense Max's struggling and turned to glance at him, her luscious chocolate eyes turning to meet his. Max pouted much like an abandoned puppy, which only ramped her feelings of pity and sorrow for the poor man. But she shook her head and snapped herself out of feelings of regret. Clover caught her gazing at Max and took her arm.

"Come on, we bagged the baddy. Let's celebrate at my place ! Sleepover !", Clover exclaimed effervescently. Sam cheered. That would make up for the lousy day they had experienced. But there was something in Max's eyes that haunted Alex. She knew those weren't the eyes of a desperate man, but a man who was deeply in love with her and she felt a twinge and a rush of blood blossoming on her cheeks. No one else saw, not even Max as he watched her get whisked away.

"Soon, my Queen. I'll rescue you from your lonliness. I guarentee you that.", he thought to himself while studying the design of the cell. He put himself into a trance, a sort of 'hypersleep', which would cause him to evolve. He wouldn't lose any of his extended insect life, but it would take some of the energy he needed to sweep Alex away back to his hideout where he could begin courting her properly.

After an hour or two of hypersleep, Max awoke and disabled the system much like the Spies had with their supersonic smoke bombs. The unnoticed 'ping' had been enough to disable his cell's security features and allowed him to be freed without any of the guards taking notice or setting off any alarms. If it was something Max was an expert at, it was stealth.

Chapter 5—His Butterfly

Sleepily after watching about a dozen chick flicks and gabbing over boys, Alex went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Outside the window was Max with a bouquet of stunning red roses.

"Are those, for me ?", Alex mouthed. Max nodded and motioned for her to open the window. Quietly, she did so, and he took her in his four arms, gently, and flew back to his lair with her.

As Max set Alex down at a table decked out with five layer New York cheesecake drizzled in marichino cherries and sparkling grape juice. The entire setting was accented by a scented vanilla candle. Dreamily, Max studied how the light played off of her soft tan skin.

"I knew you wouldn't forget about me.", Alex said, blushing gently. Max softly stroked her face and sat down across from her.

"How could I ? From the moment I saw you, I was smitten. Unfortunately, I went about courting you a bit forcefully and I should've known a lady of your callibre must be _wooed_. I hope there are no hard feelings and that I have been forgiven.", Max said, taking her hand tenderly in his. Alex couldn't stop blushing at his touch. That 'twinge' she had felt before had developed into a full-fledged gallop. Her heart was fluttering in her chest.

"I forgive you. But I was wondering what you had in mind with your Insectitron 2.0.", Alex said, as she began to savor the flavor of the decadent five layer cheesecake. She sighed rhapsodically at the taste of it.

It was the best thing she had eaten since her mom had given her German Forest Cake for her birthday.

"I was wanting to ask you about that myself. I want to court you properly, but in order to do that, I have to transform you. You do understand what that means, right ?", Max began, feeling a bit guilty about asking her about such a weighty decision.

"Of course I do. You're not going to make me into a cockroach again ? I mean, no offense, but roaches are mondo groady.", Alex said, sticking out her tongue in disgust. The barb directed at him didn't sting, since he knew Alex was being honest.

"No, I had something far more fitting and glorious for you. Come, my dear. The transition will be easy and painless.", Max said, after he had seen that Alex had gobbled up the remainder of her cheesecake. Taking her by the hand, he led her to his secret lab, which, was strangely cleaner than she would've imagined originally.

Gingerly, Alex laid down in the chamber of the Insectitron 2.0. Max had been playing the same classical music in the background for their dessert together, but the CD had transitioned to _Nocturne_ by Chopin. Alex sighed peacefully. Max certainly had exceptional taste in classical artists. Pressing a few buttons and lowering a couple levers, the Insectitron 2.0's hatch closed and Alex could feel herself transforming. Before she knew it, she had grown gossamer orange, yellow and black wings. She could hear sounds she couldn't before and her eyesight had improved. She also had an extra set of arms, which she knew would be useful. It seemed that she had other talents but she wasn't sure of what they were just yet. Like Max, she was sure she had the ability to adapt to change and could put herself into hypersleep if she wanted to illicidate a fast transformation. As she arose out of the pod and spread her wings. Max held a mirror up to her. "You're my butterfly, Alex. You look even more beautiful than I could've ever imagined you.", Max complimented. Alex had to admit she did look positively splendid. Even her multifaceted chocolate eyes were remarkable.

"Thank you, Max. I...couldn't be happier. You really know how to treat a lady.", Alex said. Max felt emboldened to touch Alex's silken skin yet again, but stopped himself and merely held her hand.

"I'll be sure to always treat you like the Queen you will soon become, my love.", Max said, humbly bowing to her. Alex had a feeling she was going to _enjoy_ being Queen, especially since she had such a loyal, devoted and altruistic King by her side.

Chapter 6—An Enemy Friend ?

In the wee hours of the night, the Spies had gotten an alert from Jerry. Clover had been holding her pillow tightly, dreaming that it was Drake. The two girls screamed, having been scared out of their wits by the shrill siren.

"What's the idea waking us up at 3:00 am ?", Sam whined.

"Yeah, Jer ! I was enjoying a tres magnifique dream about Drake.", Clover agreed, grousing.

"This is more important than a dream, Clover. This is reality. Alex is missing. She didn't have her comm on her, so I am unsure as to where she is. It is completely unlike her to leave it behind.", Jerry said, his voice tinged with worry and a smidge of anxiety. The girls didn't need to hear much more. Immediately, they signaled Jerry to WHOOP them to WHOOP headquarters, they donned their suits and were given the gadgets they needed to assist them in the mission to locate Alex.

Following what little clues they had to go on, Sam followed her instincts to the most likely place Dr. Maximillian Exterminus would hide. It was a high-scale motel which was no longer used for the general public that had been converted into a laboratory. Sadly, it seemed that the Spies were too late and Max had begun building his insect armada. Apparently, he had perfected his insectoid/human hybrid DNA so meticulously that his 'subjects' would heed his call only, but since Alex was also an insect, she also had the ability to command this army, just in case. However, Max had reassured her such a measure would not need to be taken once her friends came looking for her.

"They won't attack the Spies. I'm not a fool you know. Come to think of it, I was wondering if WHOOP would be against having someone like me on their team.", Max stated. Alex felt this was a strange notion, but somehow, she could see it working. With the new abilities she was gaining, she would be an immense asset, especially against irritating villains such as Jazz Hands.

As predicted, the Spies found Alex, supervising the insectoid uprising.

"Oh, hey, guys ! You're just in time. Max has perfected his serum. It won't wear off now.", she said, happily, wrapping her arm around his.

"He's uber intelligent, and honestly, I find that alluring.", she added, batting her eyes at him. The girls were at first, shocked at Alex's appearance but awed at how resplendent she was. They weren't sure what to talk about first; her new boyfriend, or the flowing butterfly wings that suited her so magnificently.

"I've been talking with Alex and I've been rethinking my ways. After creating a small armada of insectoid servants, I disabled the Insectitron 2.0. I felt that a betallion might've been overkill.", Max stated, honestly. Sam and Clover were amazed that Max seemed so level-headed and logical. The armada might've been a bit much, but when Max explained it would only be used for good, they started to see that Max had a potential for benevolence. The only question that remained was; Would Jerry ever accept an ex-villain as a friend ?

Chapter 7—Working For WHOOP

"Do you really think that Jerry will accept Max being a part of WHOOP ?", Clover asked Alex, supportively but with tenitiveness in her tone.

"After all, Tim Scam got fired years ago for illegal weapons use.", she added.

"Scam was a manipulator. I don't think Max would want any of us hurt. He has no alterior motives or schemes against us. He told me himself. Besides, he wants us to work together and make others realize the importance of insects in our world and how we can live more in harmony with nature.", Alex said. Sam felt the whole statement sounded rather 'tree-huggy', even for Alex, but she did have a great point.

Jerry was relieved to see the girls but was shocked at Alex's appearance and especially the fact that Max Exterminus was in the same room with them. He wanted GLADYS to alert the SWAT team to have him cuffed and thrown in WHOOP's maximum security prison for the second time. Before Jerry could do that, Alex explained _everything_, and Max then deliberated into his part of the story. Jerry mulled the details through, and seeing that Max had absolutely no malicious angles, he thought of a way that Max could prove his loyalty.

"I'm fairly certain Max's affection is honest.", Jerry began. Alex hugged Max's arm and squealed girlishly, feeling that she had triumphed in a small way.

"I'm not yet finished, Alex. If Mr. Exterminus is actually serious about working for us, he is going to have to be tested in the real world, assisting us with defeating enemies.", Jerry finished, seriously. Max didn't seem the least bit deflated or intimidated, in fact, he _welcomed_ the challenge and was ready to accept it, with gusto.

"Currently, there aren't any villains running rampant, but I guarentee you, there will be a mission for the four of you. And to you Max, all I can say is good luck. Rookies hardly last long on the spy circuit.", Jerry warned. He wasn't trying to be cruel to Max. He had simply stated the facts. Yet, Jerry had an idea that if this fellow could survive being _blown to bits_, then he could do just about anything he set his mind to.

Chapter 8—A New Mission

The Spies were sleeping peacefully in their own homes after a Saturday mall crawl. At exactly the same time, their CommPowders rang, signaling them to their next mission.

"What's the deal, Jer ? Don't you realize us girls need our beauty sleep ?", Alex asked, a bit perturbed that Jerry had a habit of waking the Spies up during the middle of the night or the wee hours of the morning.

"Seems like OOPSIE is up to their old tricks again. One of their computer hackers, Ricardo 'Ruckus' Mendez has been trying for the past 5 ½ hours to compromise our system. I think it is to spring some of his old buddies from our maximum security prison. I don't know what OOPSIE has in mind, but whatever it is, it cannot possibly bode well for us.", Jerry explained. Sam was the spy with technological knowhow and she had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. If OOPSIE leaked all the information that WHOOP had been storing all these years, many lives could be damaged beyond repair. It could even possibly lead to World War III.

The girls suited up, in Alex's case a new "insectified" suit, and sprang into action. They ran over to the area where Ruckus was messing with the system. Alex spat an acid blast at him.

"Woah, acid lugey much ?", Clover exclaimed with a mixture of awe and disgust. Ruckus screamed in pain, the acid burning his skin. Even if he wanted to continue trying to hack the system, he couldn't. He also couldn't reach his remote to call for his nanobots and have them free his fellow convicts. Despite the agony he was in, he ran as fast as he could out of WHOOP out into the open. Max's armada shot silk at his feet, immobilizing him.

"Oh, yuck !", Ruckus thought, doing his best to move, but whatever he did, the more he moved, the worse it became.

"It's best to stop struggling now and face the inevitable, Ruckus !", Sam said, cuffing the villains' hands behind his back. Alex reached into his pockets to see if he had been carrying anything and pulled out his remote control.

"Something tells me this is more than just an ordinary remote.", she mused, deducing aloud.

"Let's send it to Jerry. He'll have a team analyze it.", Clover added. Ricardo groaned. At least the acid had stopped eating through his clothes and the burning had stopped. But the rancid smell wasn't going to go away. He didn't understand why Max Exterminus was on WHOOP's side, and honestly, to him, it didn't much matter. He had failed.

Chapter 9—Alex and Max Plan Their Wedding

After the OOPSIE incident, there were more cases and missions to follow that the Spies were slick, quick and able to solve. Sometimes it took days for the more 'complicated' cases, but with Max as an ally, the Spies had an extra brain on their hands to solve the crimes in less time.

As the years flew by, Max and Alex grew closer together. Max couldn't see himself with anyone else other than her and wanted to make his love for her official. So, instead of whisking her away as he had the first night reconnecting with her, he took her to a fancy French restaurant and, using the money he had gained from WHOOP, he was able to present her with the most gorgeous diamond he had ever seen. It was, appropriately enough, in the shape of a butterfly and shone brilliantly in the light whenever light happened to strike it.

"Guys, I have _big_ news !", Alex said, one day while enjoying some shopping with Alex, Clover and their beaus. None of them had thought it odd that Alex was walking around with a half-insectoid man. In fact, _nothing_ much seemed strange to them. After all, they had dealt with 'dolphinoids', so this wasn't half as bizaarre.

Alex hugged Max from the side, causing him to blush darkly.

"Max asked me to marry him ! We're thinking of having our wedding this coming spring.", Alex boasted, jumping up and down in her newly bought peep-toe fushia pumps.

The news was groundbreaking for the Spies. Of course, Clover and Sam had seen this coming from a mile away but simply weren't certain when Max would make his move. Needless to say, they were very supportive and joyous about her upcoming marriage. The only question remained was how she was going to handle marriage, family life and espionage all in one fell swoop. Often times, the three didn't mingle together, but the two of them knew that with their love would be able to see them through any and every obstacle.

Chapter 10—Wedding, Interrupted

At first, Alex's father, Andrew, didn't approve of Alex's decision to marry Max. But once Andrew got to know Max and his true character, Andrew's tune changed. Eventually, all the plans were put in place for the wedding to commense. Luckily the weather was cooperating witht their idea to have an outdoor ceremony.

The sun was shining brightly in the azure sky. A few errant fluffy clouds passed by as the congregation gathered to celebrate Alex's union with Max Exterminus. Everything was absolutely resplendent, especially the classical music, provided by a local chamber orchestra that had been furnished by Alex's mother, Savanna. Savanna had a multitude of musical friends and these talented musicians didn't mind playing for such a momentous day.

At last, _Ave Maria_ played, and Alex promenaded down the aisle in her wedding dress. She seemed to sparkle with mirth and found it hard to hold back tears of glee from her eyes. It seemed that Max too, was overcome with emotion, seeing his beautiful bride for the very first time.

The priest began reciting their vows and asked if anyone in the audience disapproved of the union.

One young man, Nicholas, stood up defiantly and screamed, fists clenched,

"I do ! Alex should be _my_ bride !" Nick's friend, Jan, took a hold of his arm, cautioning him not to further make a fool out of himself.

"Nick, she's moved on. You had a crush on her in grade school. Dude, that's in the past !", Jan exclaimed, noticing that the tension in Nicholas' muscles began to subside and a calm overcame him.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I had been harboring that passion within me for such a long time and I had never gotten the guts to ask you out. My loss, huh ?", Nicholas stated, with a chuckle. The priest smirked at the brunette, who's fiery green eyes had become placid.

"Might I continue, young man ?", he said, looking a smidgen annoyed.

"Of course, Reverend. I am sorry I interrupted. Forgive me.", Nicholas said, slightly chagrined. On the other side of the aisle, Mandy noticed the smartly dressed slender, muscular man. She felt herself blush at his conviction and felt maybe pity had convinced her to dance with the young man later and ask his name. Whatever the emotion was that siezed her, she definitely wanted to know more about the green-eyed gentleman.

Chapter 11—Reception

The interruption from Nicholas Copperfield had been completely forgotten by the crowd. In fact, he had been forgiven by all the attendants who had been invited, including the priest. Alex had reconnected with him before her first dance with Max and had asked him for forgiveness. Nick wasn't surprised that Alex had forgotten him. She had been so popular that she had been awash in friends constantly while Nick was one of those 'misunderstood' kids that had only a few friends and unique hobbies. Yet, his friend, Jan from Switzerland always stuck by his side, and he had been with him through thick and thin.

_I've Had The Time of My Life_ sung by the Black Eyed Peas began playing in the background. Nicholas had gotten himself a drink of punch and a slice of cake and had begun sitting down to indulge himself in its quintuple chocolate decadance. Before he could take one bite, Mandy tapped him on the shoulder. She introduced herself, blushing flouridly and asked if she could dance with him.

"I really adore this song. It's one of the best love songs ever written, and I love the fact that BEP has done this version of it.", she said, demurely. Boldly, Nick took Mandy's hand with a confident gleam in his eyes.

"I agree. I think this version is even better than the original. Come on, Mandy. Let's _dance_ !", Nick said. And it was with that one dance that Mandy knew her life was never going to be the same again.

Chapter 12—A Mighty Big Family

It wasn't long before Alex became noticibly pregnant that she had to take a breather from espionage. Like most insects do, she had begun building a hive instinctually and preparing herself for the birthing process. Max had felt a bit guilty that she would have to bear so many children and they would be parents to all of them, but then he recalled they had an armada to babysit the larvae whilst they were gone saving the world.

The birthing process wasn't as terrible as Alex previously supposed it would be. The infants arrived in a big gush, almost all of them at once. There were probably about fifteen babies altogether. The first daughter that was given to Alex she named Arethusa, and as an appalation, she was called Thusa. The second daughter was Isis, after the goddess of the rainbow. Arethusa and Isis, like all the other children, had their own wing patterns that were distinctly their own and their own eye color. But the girls resembled their mother more than their father, as the boys resembled their father. Max was overjoyed that Alex had experienced no pain and each of the 'larvae' was healthy, as well as breathtakingly lovely.

"I can't play favorites with any of these darlings. They are all beautiful, just as you are, my Queen.", he said, kissing her, and dabbing her forehead of residue sweat. The hive was meticulously eaten by the babies, which would be their food for a time until they transitioned to solid foods. For now, the infants had to be closely monitored and fortuantely for Max and Alex, they had an armada nearby to assist them in helping to raise the children in an environment that was loving, caring, enlightening, encouraging and friendly.

Epilogue

Saving the world of criminals and supervillains had become even more of a breeze for Queen Alexandra, as well as Max. As their heirs grew up, they too joined their parents in saving the world. Each child had their own unique abilities that made them an essential part of the WHOOP team and the armada Max commanded was nearly unstoppable.

There would come a day when Alex, Clover and Sam would have to 'pass the torch' to others younger than themselves, but for the present time, they were all in exceptional condition, even if they were in their late 60s. As far as Jerry was concerned, 60 was the new 30. New villains came and went but they were no match for the Spies. Even a new troop, called the Amazing Spiez had come to assist when needed. There were also other groups positioned throughout the States and the world that answered the call, wherever they received it from. No matter where the agents were from, they all worked as one unit, managing the world's saftey from one day to the next. Granted, this was a tall order for anyone, but if you've ever wondered who to thank for keeping the streets safe at night and solving international dillemas, thank the Spies, WHOOP and their factions worldwide.

The End


End file.
